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I'm not a big fan of the term influencers and I don't think I'm the only one! I personally don't like it because I think it cheapens what bloggers actually do and represent. We're not (most of us) walking advertisements that try to trick or pressure or 'influence' people into buying things. I really do wish there was another name but for the moment bloggers and the like are being called influencers so I guess I'll have to get over that. I've been following bloggers, YouTubers and digital media peeps for the guts of five years now. I've said before on here, that I follow an insane amount of people across all my social media and following a crazy amount of people results in a crazy amount of recommendations. Here's a little list of influencers that ACTUALLY influence me...

Jen aka TooDollyMakeup :I've known Jen for years now at this point and she's such a lovely genuine person. She's inspired me so much, every time she snapchats at 2am saying she's just finished filming and then she's up bright and early for work, I'm in awe. Her determination and dedication is outstanding. In terms of influencing, seeing her work so damn hard and seeing it all pay off for her actually has made me work that little bit harder and made me believe in myself that little bit more.

Karen aka Lovely Girlie Bits : Karen was actually one of the first Irish bloggers I ever came across online. Immediately I warmed to her bubbly personality and humour and I was only delighted to find out when I eventually met her that she's so freaking nice too!! I love that Karen shares a mixture of high end and affordable makeup on her blog, perfect for my student budget. Her photography skills are on another level! Her work ethic is also very inspiring! When I go onto Karen's blog I know that I'm going to get complete honesty as well as a few laughs (I just loves the way her mind works sometimes). I've actually gone out and spent money many times based on what she's recommended. I've also not purchased things thanks to her recommendations and saved myself a few bob.

Sinead aka The Beautiful Truth : I am such a big fan of Sinead's blog, have been since the minute I clicked on her website ! I've met her in person a few times now and she's always been so lovely to me. I admire Sinead so much, of all bloggers and influencers she's the one I trust the most! I love that there's just no bullshit with her and whenever I see a disappointing products video pop up in my subscription box, I always watch it immediately. I've bought so many things on her recommendation and if I'm unsure of a product, I'll usually check her blog to see if she's reviewed it, before I buy it!

Aisling aka Dramatic Mac : I look up to Aisling so much! I've seen her YouTube channel grow so much over the last few years and honestly it's just amazing to watch! I love seeing the hard work that goes into growing her channel. Not a lot of influencers show that side, but I'm glad she does because it makes me up my own YouTube game. I'm no where near her success but watching her succeed makes me feel like if I keep working hard, one day it'll all pay off! I've yet to actually meet Aisling, but I'm certain it will happen at some stage and I can't wait to actually meet her.

There's a quick list of people who influence me in one way or another on a regular basis. There's so many more people I could mention and maybe I will do a follow up post, but for now there's four 'influencers' that ACTUALLY influence me! Tell me, who influences you?

How is it July already? This year is flying by and so is the summer! I have loads that I want achieve this summer and although we're halfway through the summer I'm only getting a chance to write this now as I've been working six days a weeks for most of June! Anyway I have so much going on inside my head and so much I want to achieve before I head into my final year of college in September so here goes...

First and foremost, my weight! This won't be news to any of you who follow me on snapchat and I've mentioned it in passing in previous blog posts. For the most part of 2017 I've been exceptionally busy, which I hate saying because it sounds like an excuse. But it's been my reality. Now that I have about 8 weeks of summer holidays left, I have a lot of time to exercise and prepare really good healthy meals. I've a good bit of weight to shift but I'm fully motivated as I've two weddings in September!

I need to learn to drive! I've been putting it off for years but now it's becoming increasingly frustrating so enough is enough and I'm forcing myself to do some lessons!

I really want to save as much money as I possibly can because I'm planning a trip to Florida next summer as a little treat to myself for finishing college. But that trip will cost a bucket load of money so I really need to start saving! I've worked out a little plan and if all goes well I should be able to afford it comfortably but I do need to be quite strict on myself!

I want to get a headstart on my FYP (Final Year Project) for college. Even though it's summertime and I should be relaxing and enjoying the time off, I can't help but stress about next year already. So I do want to have a solid plan and idea on what my FYP will be and hopefully get going on it before I go back to college. Some of my lecturers have recommended we start during the summer as it will ensure we get a good grade so I'm definitely taking their advice on board.

I want to get back being consistent on here, my YouTube channel and all my social media. I love blogging and making videos, creating instagram pictures and everything that comes along with it so I really want to give it my all this summer and make content that I'm really proud of!

Memories! I want to create loads of memories this summer, as most of you will know, I do a monthly vlog series in which I capture my entire month in one vlog. I want July and August to be bursting with memories of friends and family so that I can cherish them forever!

So there you have it! My plan for summer, learn to drive, save some money, do some research, lose some weight, create some great content and most of all have fun!!

When this beauty launched, it had the whole beauty world in a frenzy. I had seen the Sleek Solstice palette all over social media, but never got my hands on it until the lovely Breda from O Meara's Pharmacy gifted it to me. I was ecstatic! But did it live up to all the hype? Well...

I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a product so quickly before. The packaging looks so luxurious. It's a small plastic golden palette, perfect to pop in your makeup bag. Inside you've got a big mirror, four highlighting shades, one cream and three powder and a small brush (which let's face it, no one ever uses, it still baffles me that companies put these little brushes in).

And there you have it! I actually cannot fault this highlighting palette, if you want a soft glow or a blinding highlight, this palette has it all. The packaging looks high end and is actually practical. The shades are such good quality. They feel silky smooth and are insanely pigmented! It costs around €14.49 and is fully worth it in my opinion!

In the last few years, I've become a skincare junkie! I'm always trying to better my skincare, having suffered with acne for over 10 years, I'm very selective in the skincare I use. I've followed Caroline Hirons for a while too, she's a skincare genius and when I heard that she was teaming up with Pixi, a raved about skincare brand, I knew I had to try whatever she was making. She created a double cleanse product. I'm a big fan of double cleansing so I was thrilled to see this is what she was creating.

For anyone who is unaware of what double cleansing actually is, it's essentially cleaning your skin twice. For example, if I was to remove my makeup with either an oil cleanser or a micellar water, that would be my first cleanse.The first cleanse is to remove SPF, moisturiser from the morning, makeup etc. Then I would go ahead and cleanse my skin a second time with maybe a foam or cream cleanser. The second cleanse is to actually clean the skin.

So overall my thoughts on the product, the packaging is really nice, the tub is divided into two halves in a ying yang design. Half of the tub is a hard balm that when applied to the face or hands, melts almost immediately and the other half a cleansing cream. The balm/oil is really nice, it doesn't feel greasy, doesn't leave any residue and it removes my makeup really well. It doesn't budge my Inglot 77 gel liner, but not much does. The cream cleanser is lovely too. It's a little heavier than you'd expect but I really like it.

It does what it says on the tin, or rather, lovely packaging, but I'm not sure I'll repurchase it. I ordered it from Beauty Bay for €30.95. I found I went through it really quickly, especially the balm half. I actually used the cream cleanser half as my morning cleanser too and both halves ran out, pretty much at the same time. I reckon, you'd probably get about 6 - 8 weeks with this, depending on how much balm you need to remove your makeup. I like that it's a very simple product, it's not complicated. It's unscented and it's good for your skin. And while I like the product, I just don't love it, I can't put my finger on it, so I'm not sure I'd repurchase. However, if you need a cleanser that is very simple and has good ingredients then this is definitely worth checking out!

Sleek are fast becoming one of my favourite affordable/drugstore brands. This is the Ultra Matte V2 palette. I actually had this in my collection for quite a while and only recently reached for it as I wanted to use the green shade for a St.Patrick's Day makeup look. I was pleasantly surprised by this palette and have been reaching for it quite a lot over the past month.

The packaging is nice, it could definitely do with being a little more sturdy. I have four of these palettes (all different but the packaging is the same) and two of them don't close probably. It's very slim which is handy for storing and travelling. It has a big mirror on the inside. It came with a brush that I never used (does anyone ever use the brushes that come in half these palettes? I wish companies wouldn't bother). The palette itself has 12 matte eyeshadows and they are swatched below.

Above are some swatches and to be honest the camera doesn't do them justice. They are so incredibly pigmented, bar one of two of the skin toned shades, which are really good as transition shades. They blend really easily and aren't patchy which is quite rare for budget makeup brands I find. This palette isn't for everyone, I personally love the colours that are in it. I think they're actually really unique shades and I've loves creating some more colourful looks. here's just two looks I created using this palette...

This palette is a winner in my eyes. It costs €11.49 and can be bought in boots and in pharmacies nationwide!

If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that my skin is super duper pale! As a result I find it really difficult to find a contour shade that's not too warm and not too cool. When I seen that Seventeen (one of my favourite brands) had a contour kit, I picked it up straight away. I bought mine in Boots and it cost €8.49!

So as you can see from the pictures, there's two pans in the kit, one for contouring and one for brightening. Both are powders. The packaging is nice, it's slim so it's easy to store and travel with, it's quite sturdy and it also has a large mirror on the inside. The pans themselves are also quite big which is great. I hate when companies make the pans a little bit smaller in order to fit in a brush (that no one ever uses anyway), so I'm glad Seventeen didn't go down that route. It also came with a little guide that shows you where to apply the contour shade and where to apply the brightening shade. Handy!

Above is swatches of the two powders. The contour shade works really well with my skin tone, both when I'm tanned and also when I'm pale (which is 99% of the time). It looks quite contrasting against my skin in the picture but when it blends out, it really is beautiful. The pigmentation is really good, it works well if you're looking for a natural look or you want to build it up for a night out. Whichever you prefer, it easily achieved with this powder. The brightening shade is quite nice too. I usually use it as a setting powder. I like applying it under my eyes as it's not a very heavy powder so it doesn't give that cakey look.

All in all I really like it, since buying it, I haven't used anything else! The standout is the contour shade but the brightening shade is good to have in the kit as well. For €8.49 you can't go wrong with this little contour kit. It's a great size and performs really well. Seventeen also do offers quite regularly in Boots so it's no harm keeping an eye out for those 3 for 2 offers!

It's been a while since my last favourites post, I only like to do them every second month so that I can try out a product for a decent amount of time. There's been loaaaaads of things that I've been loving lately and I can't wait to share them with you all! So let me know in the comments what you've been loving recently whether that's a beauty product, film, an event you went to or a happy memory!

I wanted to try the No7 Facial Brush Cleanser for the longest time and always put it on the long finger as I had my ALDI Facial Brush Cleanser. I didn't really see the point in having two. However Boots had an amazing deal on, usually the facial brush is €34 and I ended up only paying €11.50! What a bargain!!! So is it any good?

I've had the facial brush for about 3 months now and I use it two to three times a week, I usually use it after I remove my makeup. You'd be surprised what's left on your skin, so I always double cleanse! With the mechanism itself you get one brush head that you can remove and change when necessary. The brush heads are sold separately in Boots. You get two brush heads in a pack for €11. As I said I'm at the 3 month mark now so I'll be changing my brush head soon.

It comes with batteries which I was delighted about. There's nothing worse than getting all excited about something and then realising it needs batteries and you have none! The brush fits really comfortably in your hand and has a little button to press to turn it on. Press once for a medium speed and twice for the brush head to spin very quickly. Personally I only really use the first speed as I find the second speed can be a bit harsh on my sensitive skin. I like the fact that the brush head spins, the ALDI one vibrates and you have to move it yourself. The bristles of the brush are lovely. Nice and soft but still you get a good exfoliation with it.

I always use a gel cleanser along with it, currently using the Image Stem Cell cleanser and they're a match made in heaven. I start with wetting the bristles with water, adding my cleanser to the bristles and then cleansing my face. I only keep the brush on my face for about 45 seconds, moving it in circular motions.

I do prefer it to the ALDI brush even though I really like the ALDI brush. As I said above it costs €34 but No7 constantly have deals on and keep a hold of those €6.50 of No7 products and you'll get a great bargain like I did! I really like having the cleansing brush as part of my skincare routine, my skin always feels squeaky clean afterwards!

Have you tried the No7 Beautiful Skin Facial Cleansing Brush ? Tell me what you think in the comments!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mammies of the world and especially to the very best mammy, my own! To mark the day I filmed a video with my mam and we had so much fun! It was so interesting to ask her some questions and discuss them. I just found the list of questions when I searched for 'Mother Daughter Tag'. I really enjoyed filming it and I hope you enjoy watching it! Let me know in the comments what your plan for the day is!